Mechanism for drawing textile slivers or rovings



March 12, 1940. .1. F JACKSON ,193,196

MECHANISM FOR DRAWING TEXTILE SLIVERS OR- ROVINGS Filed June 15, 1931'- 2Sheets-Sheet 1 1 if A6 4 6 0 g; i J

I N V EN TOR.

efai/z flea/ 4254 fa/$012 v BY A TTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 12, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MECHANISM FOR DRAWING TEXTILE SLIVERS OR ROVINGS poration of Maine Application June 15, 1937, Serial No. 148,329

3 Claims.

This invention relates to drawing mechanisms for textile slivers or rovings; and has for one of its objects the provision of an improved construction of drafting apparatus utilizing belts 5 or aprons in which each of the individual aprons or belts employed for supporting and conducting the strand of sliver or roving from one pair of feed rolls to another, are of an endless construction.

0 Another object of the invention is to provide simple and improved means for guiding the belts whereby they may be easily removed and renewed at will without interfering with the normal operation of the rest of the machine or of necessitating stoppage of the complete machine with the consequent loss of production and expense which has heretofore been the case during use of the prior art belt mechanisms employing belts or aprons the ends of which are cemented together after being put in place.

Another object of the invention is to provide a removable construction of drafting mechanism whereby the assembly of belts and associated rotatable driving members may be removed as a complete unit from the frame of the machine.

Another object is to provide a device of the above character in which the driving rolls for the belts and the front guide elements over which the forward runs of the belts extend are each supported at their ends solely on the usual cap bars of the frame of the machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide a unit assembly of belts and driving members which is completely devoid of any mechanism requiring attachment to or in embracing relation completely about a fixed driving roll on the machine. Another object of the invention is to provide a construction having a plurality of upper and lower endless belts wherein the rotatable members for driving the lower belts have positive but detachable driving connection with a separate exterior driving member.

Another object of the invention is to provide a plurality of sets of endless belts, each set 113V.- ing cooperating runs between which the sliver or roving travels in which the arrangement is such that one of the rotatable members for driving one of the belts of each set has positive driving connection with an exterior continuous fixed drive shaft underlying the rotatable member.

Another object of the invention is to provide a conveying mechanism for the fibers of a removable unit construction in which the guide elements and rotatable members for the endless belts are insertable in the loops of the aprons or belts and encircled thereby, whereby the belts serve solely to maintain the parts in assembly when the unit is removed from the machine. 5 A further object of the invention is to provide a construction for a mechanism of the above character in which the rotatable member and the guide elements for the forward loop of the belts are guided and supported independently 10 of one another at their ends in cap bars which act to locate the unit in operating relation with .drafting mechanism embodying the present in- 25 vention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view looking at the end of the drafting rolls, and showing the roll stand in which they are mounted and showing my invention applied thereto; 30

Fig. 3 is a front sectional view taken longitudinally on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, showing in full lines the rotatable driving members for the belts and the main driving roll therefor and the manner in which the latter drives the belts; 35

Fig. 4 is a front longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the guide 40 bars for a pair of belts;

Fig. '7 is a perspective view of the top belt roll of the drafting unit;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the bottom belt roll of the drafting unit and showing the driving 45 means therefor; and

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of a modified form of support member for the belt guide bars.

Heretofore, the belts or aprons employed in the 50 prior art drafting mechanisms have been usually guided between side plates or flanges of a frame or cradle in which the driving rolls for the belts are mounted, side plates for confining the belts being rigidly joined together by longitudi- 55 nally arranged rods and guide bars to provide a unitary structure. This frame or cradle, furthermore, is commonly provided with a pair of detachable bars or rods mounted in spaced relation at its forward portion and over which the front loops of the belts are guided in close proximity to the drawing rolls. However, in the machines employing this prior art construction the lower roller about which the bottom belt runs has usually consisted of a continuous roll extending the length of the machine, this roll being made up of a series of sections rigidly joined together at their ends for driving connection. The upper roll usually is short and mounted directly above the bottom sectional roll and formed with a pair of spaced cylindrical belt engaging portions, this roll being removably supported in the usual cap bars, and consequently may be readily lifted therefrom to permit insertion in the loop of the upper belt which thus may be initially made endless. Owing to thegreat length and continuous construction of the lower roll around which the bottom belt runs, it is, however, impossible to use in this location a previously fabricated apron or belt of endless construction, thus making it necessary during each replacement of the belt to cement the ends of the belt in place after wrapping the strip of belting around its respective guide bar and this bottom roll, which process requires stopping of the complete machine with the consequent loss of production; and in order to provide an improved construction of drafting apparatus of the belt type which does not depend upon such cemented belts and to improve and simplify such drawing mechanisms, I have provided a construction utilizing a pair of endless belts between which the sliver or roving travels wherein each of said belts is arranged in an, encircling relation about a rotatable driving member or cylinder and a guide element in which the rotatable driving member and the guide element for each belt are supported solely at their ends on a part of the frame of the machine; and to this end, I preferably employ the usual cap bars for this purpose wherein I have provided therein a series of spaced vertical channels formed in their opposite side faces thereof which have interfitting engagement with the ends of the rotatable driving member and the guide elements for the belts for guiding and supporting the same and to locate the parts in predetermined spaced relation; and I have further provided a construction in which the driving members and the guide elements for the belts are maintained in assembled operating relation solely by the belts and thus may be removed bodily from the frame of the machine as a unit; and furthermore, I have found it to be of advantage to construct the guide elements for the belts as; a unitary structure and comprising a pair of similar guide bar elements each having spaced recessed portions or channels formed therein for receiving and guiding the side edges of the belts in which the bars are arranged back to [back and with their grooved portions facing outwardly in opposite directions and suitably spaced for accommodating the free encircling movement of the belts; and the following is a more detailed description of the present embodiment of this invention, illustrating the preferred means by which these advantageous results may be accomplished:

With reference to the drawings, l0 designates one of a series of spaced roll stands which are of well known construction in the art, each having a standard ll provided with a suitable base portion (not shown) whereby each of the stands may be rigidly mounted on a suitable support of the frame of the machine. As shown in Fig. 1 the roll stand I0 is provided with a. top platform member I2 having. its forward end extending upwardly to form the usual journal for the front bottom drawing roll l3. At the rear of each of the roll stands and on the platform I2 is adjustably secured a bearing block IS on which is journaled the usual bottom backroll IS. The rolls I3 and I6 may be formed either with a smooth cylindrical outer surface or of a fluted construction, as desired. This block I5 is formed at its bottom with a suitable longitudinally extending channel for interfitting seating engagement with a cooperating tongue portion on the upper face portion of the platform 12 of the roll stand, as is the usual construction in the art. The forward portion of this block I5 is of reduced thickness and at the rear of this portion is a bolt I! the lower end of which extends through a slot l8 formed in the platform l2 of each roll stand, and having a nut l9 threaded thereon and engaging at its upper end the lower face of the platform l2, as is well known construction in the art, for permitting adjustment of the block [5 and the lower back roll l6 towards and from the lower front roll 13.

The rolls I3 and I6 are each of a sectional construction in which a plurality of short sections are keyed together at their ends to provide a continuous elongated shaft which is journaled at a plurality of intervals in the roll stands and extending the entire length of the machine, as usual, the rolls being positively driven at different speeds by suitable gearing (not shown) at the end of the machine, at rates whereby the draft on the yarn, sliver or roving between the successive rolls is increased. The rolls l3 and I6 are each preferably formed with fiuted'portions 20 and 2| respectively, at intervals along their length, such portions being alternately arranged in spaced relation with smooth cylindrical hub portions (not shown) of a lesser diameter therebetween, as is the common construction in the art.

A driving roll 24 also in the form of a single continuous shaft of similar elongated sectional construction as the lower rolls l3 and I6 and extending the entire length of the machine, is provided at intervals with a plurality of spaced bearing portions 25 which are journaled in the forward reduced portion of the block I5 in the roll stands. By loosening the nut IS, the rolls l6 and 24 being journaled in the common bearing block l5 thus may be moved with the block and simultaneously positioned at desired adjusted distances toward or from the lower front roll l3. Positioned on the driving roll 24 between the successive bearing portions 25 and at spaced intervals therealong are a plurality of collars 28 which, as shown in Fig. 3, form rest or support members for purposes which will hereinafter be described. Located at intervals on the driving roll 24 and between a pair of collars 28 is positioned an enlarged fluted hub portion or gear 29 and employed for purposes to presently appear, the diameter of this gear being greater than the diameter of the collars 28. This gear and the collars 28 may each be formed integral with the.

shaft of the roll 24 or they may comprise separate parts which are fixed in position on the roll. As shown in Fig. 2, the driving roll 24 is located below the line of travel of the sliver or roving,

, present invention, to be mounted above the driving roll 24 and in a superposed cooperating relation thereto without changing the relationship of the line of travel of the yarn, as indicated by the broken line S, whereby the latter may travel between the cooperating surfaces of a pair of juxtaposed belts of my intermediate belt unit.

As shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the block l has a rearward extension 30 thereon in which is mounted a. pivot rod 3| to which may be fixed, as by set screws 32, a plurality of cap bars 33. Ordinarily, there are more cap bars than roll stands, a cap bar being provided for each roll stand l8 and others being positioned intermediate of the stands, the bars being arranged for forward pivotal swinging movement over the rolls l3 and 16. As illustrated, each cap bar 33 is of extensible construction, it being formed of two sections 34 and 85, and connected by a telescoping rod 36. The rear section 34 is shown as being provided with oppositely disposed vertically arranged channels or slots 31 having open ends at the top face of the cap bar and extending downwardly therefrom forloosely receiving trunnions or journals '38 at the ends of the rear upper rolls 48. The channels 31 may be provided as a deep cut in the top face of the arms 33 or in the opposite side faces thereof as separate channels extending inwardly from the sides of the cap bar arm, in which latter case they extend in a vertical direction throughout the entire depth of the arms.

section 35 is provided with oppositely disposed vertically arranged slots 4| positionable above the lower roll l3 and forming guides for loosely receiving the trunnions or journals 42 of the front top rolls 43, the rolls 40 and 43 being formed with usual spaced sections (not shown) which are customarily provided with a leather or cork outer covering and adapted to rest upon the underlying fluted sections 20 and 2| of the bottom rolls l3 and I6 respectively. The above described parts have been shown in their conventional arrangement without the usual weighted saddle means for weighting the upper rolls 40 and 43 and maintaining them in place, as is well known in the art, such means forming no par ticular feature of the present invention. At a point intermediate these channels 31 and 4| the cap bar 33 is thickened as at 45 to provide a lug which extends downwardly into close proximity to the lowerdrive member 24, and formed in this lug 45 are oppositely disposed vertical channels 48 to extend throughout the entire depth thereof at a location above and substantially in vertical alignment with the axis of the driving roll 24. A forward extension 41 which extends from the lower frontportion of the thickened section 45 is provided with oppositely disposed vertical slots or channels 48 and they may extend downwardly thereof throughout either the entire portion of its depth or short of the bottom to provide a bottom flange or ledge portion 49 at the lower end of the respective channels, as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, for purposes to presently appear. These channels 45 and 48 form guides in which ride and are loosely supported the trunnions of the front belt guide members and the belt driving rolls of my Similarly, the front:

drawing mechanisms, as will be presently more fully described.

As illustrated in the drawings, there is shown disposed betweenthe usual drawing rolls of a long draft machine for drawing-out the sliver or roving a drawing mechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention, which comprises a pair of endless belts or aprons 5| and 52 positioned on and encircling a pair of rotatable driving cylinders or rolls 54 and 55 respectively, each of which belts receives and has insertable within its loop its respective driving roll while the forward end of the belts 5| and 52 are positioned about and run over a pair of guide bars 51 and 58 respectively. The rolls 54 and 55 are provided with trunnions or journals 68 and SI respectively, which are adaptedtoloosely ride in and be removably mounted fdfslidin'g and rotary movement in the vertical slots 46 formed in the oppositely disposed faces of adjacent cap bars 33. The upper roll 54 is an idler and is provided with a pair of spaced belt-driving sections or cylinders 62 and 63, andan intermediate hub section 64 of reduced diameter, said sections 62 and 63 each being formed at their ends with cylindrical portions 55 between which lies an intermediate portion 68 which is provided with a roughened surface formed either by knurling, milling or fluting the same. Similarly, the lower belt driving roll 55, which is the driven roll and positively driven from the roll 24, is provided with spaced belt driving sections or cylinders 61 and 68 each of which have cylindrical end sections 69 between which is formed a roughened or knurled intermediate belt, gripping portion Between the belt driving sections 61 and 68 the roll 55 has a driving hub or gear 1| which is substantially of the same diameter as that of the belt dr ivin g sections 81 and 58 and adapted to intermesh with and have positive driving connection with the driving gear 29 on the lower continuous driving roll 24 when the belt mechanism assembly is mounted as a unit in proper operating position in place in the machine, as willbe hereinafter described.

'As illustrated in Fig. 4, each of the belt guide bars 51 and 58 are of similar construction and each consists of a bar formed of suitable metal or other rigid, hard and smooth material, the bars 51 and 58 being arranged back to back and securely held in fixed superposed spaced relationship by means of suitable spacing collars or separators 13 and bolts 14 to provide a unitary structure. The spacing between the bars 51 and 58 always should be, however, substantially greater than the thickness of the two belts 5! and 52 so as to accommodate the regular passage of the fibers of sliver or roving without preventing functioning of the belts. Each of the belt guide bars 51 and 58 has trunnions or journals at its ends to loosely fit in the slots 48 of the cap bar extension 41. Formed intermediate of the bars 51 and 58 are a pair of spaced recessed portions or channels 11 and 18 which extend crosswise of the bars, the channels in the upper bar 51 extending rearwardly and downwardly from the front and top faces respectively, while those in the lower bar 58 are arranged so as to extend inwardly from the front and the bottom face of that bar. These channels 11 and 18 thus formed serve to provide guides in which run the front loop of the top and bottom endless belts 5| and 52 respectively, the channels being so shaped as to provide a deep cut-out portion having substantial side walls which form flanges for guiding the side edges of the belts and for maintaining the latter in properly aligned relation with reference to the belt driving sections 52, 83 and 51, 88 of the rolls 54 and 55 respectively. The bottom surface of the channels 11 and 18 may be of suitable shape, as desired, but as illustrated in Fig. 6 it is shown as being curved so as to provide a smooth rounded front edge over which the inner circumferential surface of the belt loops run.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 4, each of the bars 51 and 58 is of the same length as the belt driving rolls 54 and 55 and thus enable the positioning of the mechanism as a unit intermediately between the sets of drawing rolls I3, 43 and I5, 48 (see Fig. 2). When so mounted, the rolls 54 and 55 will have their trunnions 88 and 8| positioned in the channels 46 of the opposed cap bars for rotation therein and thus are located in a superposed relation directly over the lower driving roll 24. The trunnions I5 of the guide bars 51 and 58 thus will be positioned in the channels 48, the trunnions I5 of the lower bar member 58 being seated or supported at their lower face by the oppositely disposed flanges 48 of a pair of adjacent cap bars 33, in which positions the recessed portions or channels TI and 18of the bar members 51 and 58 will be vertically aligned opposite the belt driving sections 51 and 58 of the lower driving roll 55. The pairs of endless belts or aprons 5| and 62 are positioned in an encircling relation about the roughened sections 65 and 18 of the belt driving rolls 54 and 55 respectively, and the guide bars 51 and 58 so that the lower portion of the belt 45 is positioned above and travels in a direction substantially parallel to the upper run of the lower belt 48 to cooperate therewith. Thus, the roll 55 which drives the lower belt 52 is positively driven from the driving roll 24 to cause movement of the fibers of the sliver or roving to travel between the cooperating opposed surfaces of the belts 5| and 52, whereby the movement of the sliver will in turn impart movement of the upper belt 5| in the same direction. As shown in Fig. 3 the driving roll 24 is provided with reduced portions 88 which serve to provide suflicient clearance between the driving roll 24 and the outer surface of the bottom portion of the lower belts 52 so as to permit the latter to run clear and out of contact with the driving roll 24. In accordance with this arrangement, the spaced smooth cylindrical portions 88 at each end of the belt driving cylinders 61 and 68 rest upon and are supported by the cylindrical outer surface of the spaced collars 28 of the main driving roll 24 in a floating manner, the collars also act to provide spaced flanges at each side of the bottom belts 52 to confine and guide the side edges of the latter.

As illustrated, the blocks |5 may be adjusted as desired relative to the roller stands I8 in order to position the forward loop portions of the belts 5| and 52 at desired distances in relation to the bight of the front rolls l3 and 35 respectively. In accordance with the above construction, the guide bars 51 and 58 being rigidly secured to one another, provide a unitary structure about which the forwardloops of the belts 5| and 52 are fulcrumed and since they have inserted in their respective rear loops the driving rolls 54 and 55 the belts act to maintain the complete assembly together as a single unit, when removed out of operating position from the recesses of the cap bars 33, as for the purpose of effecting removal or replacement of one or more of the belts.

It will thus be apparent that in accordance with this invention the "floating" construction of feeding apron unit thus provided is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and one which is capable of easy insertion in the frame of the machine and adapted for ready removal therefrom as a unit, whereby the belts, driving rollers therefor and guide elements may be withdrawn as a complete assembly to permit the belts to be utilized and applied in an endless manner. The construction which is provided by the present invention also enables the operator to readily re-' place one or more belts at will without interfering with the operation of other conveying units on the machine and without requiring the stopping of the machine for making such belt replacements since it is merely necessary to remove the weighting mechanism in the usual manner and lift out the unit assembly of bars 51 and 58, belt attached rolls 54 and 55, then slide out the rolls from the loops of the respective belts, to free the rear loops of the belts and then remove the belts by slipping them endwise over the free and unsupported outer ends of the bars 51 and 58. A fresh endless belt may be positioned in the guide frame by merely reversing the steps just described. Thus, it becomes unnecessary to piece up or cement any belt in position on the machine which has heretofore been required particularly in the replacement of the bottom belts in the previous belt devices in common use in spinning frames. I

It will, 'of course, be understood that while I have illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings only one belt device embodying my invention and positioned intermediately between two sets of nip rolls that a series of such belt devices may be employed if desired in mechanisms having a plurality of successive draft stages in one or more of which an apron or belt device constructed in accordance with the present invention as above described may be inserted between the sets of nip rolls of one or all of such draft stages thereof, as desired, without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

In Fig. 9, another arrangement for holding the guide bars 51 and 58 and the rolls 54 and 55 is shown, in which an effective adjustment of the guide bars 51 and 58 is provided for in order to permit tightening of the belts should they become slack or stretched during use. Referring to this figure, it will be seen that the block 88 is provided with a slotted opening extending laterally of and completely through the body of the block to provide the channels or slots 82 in opposite side faces of the block for receiving the trunnions 15 of the guide bars. The channels 82 are shown as having open ends at their top portions and extend downwardly therefrom to unite with the end portions of the body opening. The bottom wall 83 of the block 88 provides a ledge portion at the lower end of each of the channels 82 on which the trunnion 15 of the lower guide bar 58 may be seated and supported.

Intermediate of the channels 82 is a bar member 85 which connects the front and back walls of the cored block and bridges the upper portion of the latter. The bar 85 is provided with a suitable bore for receiving the rod 36 on which the block 88 is supported and to which the block may be suitably clamped as by means of a screw 86 passing through and threaded into a suitable opening in the bar 85. Thus, the block 88 may be adjusted relative to each of the cap bar sections 34 and 35 respectively, and also in various positions of adjustment with respect to bight of the front set of rolls l3 and 43, as de-- sired.

The foregoing description is directed solely towards the construction illustrated, but I desire it to be understood that I reserve the privilege of resorting to all the mechanical changes to which the device is susceptible, the invention being defined and limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a drawing mechanism for textile slivers or rovings, two sets of upper and lower drawing rolls, a guide frame for the upper roll of each set of drawing rolls, a drive shaft positioned intermediate of said sets of drawing rolls and below the plane passing through the line of nip of each of said sets of rolls, and a feeding and conveying mechanism for sliver or roving positioned between said sets of rolls and removably mounted as a unit on said guide frame, said conveying mechanism comprising a pair of guide bars positioned one above the other in spaced relation and rigidly connected at their mid-portions to form a unitary structure, said bars each having at least two spaced recesses, an endless belt in each of said recesses, the forward loop of each of said belts extending over and encircling said bars, a roll loosely inserted in the rear loop of each belt and removably mounted on centers on said guide frame, said belts having closely adjacent and substantially parallel runs for acting on the sliver or roving and also serving to maintain said guide bars and belt rolls in assembly when said conveying mechanism is removed as a unit from said frame.

2. In a drawing mechanism for textile slivers or rovings, the combination of two sets of drawing rolls, upper and lower removable rotatable cylinders positioned between said sets of drawing rolls, endless belts about and passing be-' tween said cylinders and arranged in cooperating relation thereon and between which the sliver or roving travels, each of said belts having a run extending forwardly towards the bight of one set of drawing rolls, a guide member for each of said belts and over which the end of the forward run of one of the belts extends, and means adjustable relative to said drawing rolls and said cylinders for supporting said guide member independently of said rotatable driving cylinders for the belts, said belt guide members being integrally connected together and removably mounted as a unit on said means.

3. In a drafting mechanism for textile slivers or rovings, a pair of cap bars in spaced relation to each other, drawing rolls thereon including a short bottom roll and a short top roll, said top and bottom rolls extending between said cap bars and being removably and rotatably supported thereon, an endless belt on said top roll, an endless belt on said bottom roll, a support between said cap bars for guiding internally the front loops of said belts comprising a pair of spaced bars positioned one above the other in parallel relation and fixed together at a point intermediate their ends to form a rigid unitary structure having their remote ends free, said bars being removably and non-rotatably supported at their ends alone on said cap bars, said upper and lower bars being located in front of and parallel to said top and bottom rolls respectively in the normal operating position of the bars on said cap bars, said belts being permanently endless and serving to maintain the guide bars and the driving rolls in assembled relationship when removed from the drawing mechanism and also to form a unitary ,demountable feeding mechanism bodily insertible into and removable from said drawing mechanism as a unit.

JOHN FREDERICK JACKSON. 

